K5 International Buys into Blockchain Group White Rabbit

Norwegian group White Rabbit will get access to the K5's film library, which includes Jim Jarmusch's 'Paterson' and Oscar-nominee 'Land of Mine.'

German-British production and sales group K5 is teaming up with Norwegian blockchain company White Rabbit in the latest partnership between the old school film business and the cutting-edge tech of blockchain, the foundational technology behind Bitcoin.

K5 announced Wednesday its K5 International division would take a financial stake in Oslo-based White Rabbit and that K5 co-founder Daniel Baur would join White Rabbit's advisory board. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the agreement, K5 will give White Rabbit access to its library of feature films, which include Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, a co-production with Amazon Studios, and Martin Zandvliet's Oscar-nominated Danish war drama Land of Mine. Upcoming K5 productions include Andrew Niccol's Anon, starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried, which premieres worldwide on Netflix next month, and the spy-thriller The Coldest Game from Polish director Lukasz Kosmicki, which stars Bill Pullman and Lotte Verbeek and is currently shooting.

White Rabbit's main product is a browser plug that recognizes content being streamed over peer-to-peer connections and allows viewers to pay rights holders directly via blockchain technology using digital tokens.

Similar to other blockchain startups, the company is looking to create a workable business model for independent production, which has seen the traditional revenue streams of DVD and TV sales dry up and faces a digital marketplace increasingly dominated by online giants such as Netflix and Amazon.

In a statement, Baur said White Rabbit's blockchain system had the potential to “disrupt the film and television industry, making it the best place for fans, talent, distributors, sales agents and investors.”